Sophomore and junior students watched the Tony Award-winning play “Eureka Day” at Theater J in Washington, D.C, on Tuesday, March 25. The play, which runs from March 11 through April 5 and lasts about 1 hour and 40 minutes, is a comedy portraying a fictional southern California private school’s handling of a mumps outbreak.
At the eponymous Eureka Day School, the five board members can change school policies only by unanimous consensus. When mumps disease breaks out at the school, polarizing opinions divide the group and threaten the school’s continued existence.
“Comedy can be smart and serious too,” JDS’s Debra Herman Berger Director of Arts Education, David Solomon, said. “Even though it was a funny show, it was about an important topic and one that I hope students really debate and discuss.”
On the bus ride back to school, Solomon enjoyed hearing students converse about a wide range of topics and issues brought up in the show, which he said infrequently occurs outside of the classroom setting.
Solomon began planning the trip with Theater J over the summer. Earlier in the year, Theater J’s education programs manager Hester Kamin and actor Eric Hissom met with the two grades at JDS to introduce the play and act out a scene with student involvement. This allowed students to learn more about the show they were going to watch.
Sophomore Jocelyn Fisher appreciated the day off from normal school, which allowed her to relax during a stressful time leading up to spring break. While Fisher felt disappointed by the overall plot, she did enjoy some of the humorous scenes.
“I wasn’t a huge fan of the play, but it wasn’t terrible,” Fisher said. “I liked some of the moments [such as] when they’re on a call and the parents were live chatting and that was funny.”
On Friday, students will have the opportunity to hear virtually from Jonathan Spector, the playwright of “Eureka Day.” There, students will be allowed to ask questions and discuss the play with its writer.
As someone who loves theater and acting, junior Na’ama Cohen enjoys going to shows at Theater J. Last year, Cohen saw the plays “Prayer for the French Republic” and “Other” with her grade.
“I think they’re really creative and kind of off the beaten path, which I really enjoy,” Cohen said. “I think the actors did an absolutely fantastic job, the show was really engaging and really fun to watch and very comedic.”
